Okay, so I read today that IBM is laying off 4,000 people and off-shoring the jobs to India. This is nothing new and has been going on for quite a while now. Companies under pressure from stockholders to turn a profit and a big return on investments, have been moving jobs out of the country for years. I ask anyone to go to a store today and try to find an article of clothing Made in America. I had commented about an article that was written, I believe in Mother Jones about a reporter who tried to buy just American for a week and had great difficulty. Even in my own neck of the woods where the twin cities of New Bedford and Fall River were home to the textile industry saw all of that go away. Once humming factories have long since been converted to office space, apartments, outlet stores, or gone up in infernos fueled by floors soaked for decades by oil from sewing machines. In my lifetime, I saw the great Fall River Knitting Mills go the way of the dinosaur. They used to make great sweaters, but started to lose business from off-shore where they don't have child labor laws or worker's rights.
So rather than just getting product from overseas, they are now exporting whole jobs. It is more blatant, but guess what. There is nothing you can do about it. That's right nothing. What are you going to do to a company like IBM? Stop buying ThinkPads? Um, no, they sold that out to Lenovo. So what can we do? Nothing.
I hate to be a downer, businesses are in the business of creating profit and big returns for their investors. They outsourced a lot of manufacturing. What did they have left? Jobs. They have to turn a profit, that is what our culture demands. So they start cutting jobs to keep the returns via dividends coming. After all, when the economy takes a downturn, investors shouldn't take the hit. Cut executive salaries, are you nuts? Like Boston radio host Jay Severend said, and mind you, I don't agree with him or his ways, but happened to hear him talking about this, if you reduce executive salaries then the only people you will get to run the companies are some professors from Harvard. I think the point being made is that these guys know how to run a business but don't make the million dollar salaries. Well, maybe that is what we need. Because quite frankly these guys that are running the companies for million dollar salaries and bonuses to match, are driving companies in the ground. The unfortunate part is they are driving our economy into the ground also.
So, what I have to ask all these economic gurus that were saying how great things were as the DOW broke 13000, how long did you think this paradigm would work? At some point we had to reach that tipping point where we got rid of so many jobs that it started to affect retail sales. And of course, because companies are stuck in that old paradigm, just react in the same way they have been conditioned, they lay off workers. So even more people are put on the bread lines and guess what, retail sales go down, oh of course, execpt Walmart. So with sales down, profits down, what do companies do, the only thing left they can, lay off more workers.
Of course, at some point we had to hit the tipping point.
So this news about IBM putting 4,000 more workers on the skids and sending the jobs to India is just a continuation of the same old paradigm. Why can't we do anything? Well, besides these corporate execs not listening, IBM with the sale of its PC division to Lenovo got out of the consumer market. They sell services to corporations. Since sending jobs overseas allows them to sell those services for a lower price, corporations, their customers, are happy. Are you beginning to see how this paradigm is like a snake eating its own tail? At some point, you run out of tail.
So to hear people in shock about this economy, in shock about how retail sales are down, housing sales are down, car sales, in shock that we have to have yet another round of layoffs.
So what we need is a new paradigm. We need a way to get all these people back working. Unfortunately, until we do, we will just continue this spiral.
In the interim, maybe we should relearn the old ways. Start by planting mini-gardens. Be sure to use heirloom seeds so that you can keep your own seeds and be able to replant the next year. Learn how to can and preserve foods. Learn how to make your own bread. Our grandparents and great-grandparents survived the depression by coming together and helping each other. So until corporations get the bigger picture and stop being more concerned about investor returns and executive bonuses, than in what they are doing the economy, it is up to us to help each other.

"What is the truth?"
"What path is the right path?"

These were questions I yelled out during prayers one day. When I finally quieted my tirade and heaved a sigh and watched the scenery fly by, the answer came back to me, "If I gave you the truth, you would not have the journey."

In that one sentence, it summed up what has been a fascinating journey. One in which each time I thought I found an answer, I came away with ten more questions. I laughingly refer to it as falling down the rabbit hole with Alice.

As many of you who have followed my journey know, I was raised Catholic. I followed a path given to me by others and even came close to becoming a priest. People noted my spiritual nature and because most everyone was Catholic, a priest seemed a good fit. Oh, I was a Youth Minister for a couple of years, but the closest I came to the full commitment was sitting in the Diocesan offices having an interview. The Monsignor was please with my answers until he came to the one, "How do you feel towards women?" Well, now, being Irish, the wit took over before I could catch it, and that old Tommy Tune song from Finian's Rainbow came to mind and out I blurted, "If I can't be with the one I love, I'll love the one I'm with." Bzzzzzt, wrong answer. Thank you for playing, try again another time. Next!

Maybe it was a good thing as I ended up not being locked into a singular dogma that constrained thought to only what came out of the Holy See. Of course, the more I learned about the Catholic Church and its dark underbelly, the more I was happy not to have walked down that path, though I think I would have made one heck of a priest.

Well, my life after that was spent in spiritual fits and starts. The place where I felt most comfortable and at home was in the woods. So it was there that I would talk to God. My personal life had many ups and downs too. Two failed marriages later, I found myself having a breakdown and serious identity issues. I spent five years in counseling only to find that it was okay to believe as I did. My spiritual path was my own and now that I owned it, I had to find out what IT was. I knew from experience that being Catholic was not a fit. So I set out to find out just what I believed and what I could learn. I left my heart open to other paths and investigated at will. Eventually settling down to learn about indigenous healing or as anthrosociologists like to call, shamanism. (Please understand that I know that Native Americans are not shaman, neither are Curanderos or Laikas, it is an eastern European that unfortunately, anthrosociologists like to use to classify all indigneous healers in one lump.) .I investigated many aspects of healing from reading various books about Native American tribes. I read some of the American Shaman writers like Sandra Ingerman, Alberto Villoldo, and many, many others. I read about the sacred drum medicine of the Manianka of Mali. I also took time to read spiriitual writings from Black Elk, Fools Crow, and the Dali Lama. I also learned from Native American friends who were healers.

Let me back track one moment. You may ask why I chose this path. Ever since I was in high school, I have always acted as a "counselor" to others. My school counselor noted this and wanted me to switch my career path from Food Service to psychology. Well, I was going to a regional school and if I switched from Food Service to psychology, I would have had to return to my own school system. So I stayed in Food Service and just continued to do what ever I could to listen and try to help others. This has continued all through my life, and even now I wish I had the time and resources to return to school to take up psychology as my next career. It wasn't just my words and listening that helped to heal. When I was a Youth Minister, one thing people noted was that when I gave the kids back massages after having to sit for long periods, they would say that my hands would get hot and they could feel it go through them. They would soon fall asleep and when they awoke they said it felt like they had slept all night and were The thing is, that when I ran away from Youth Ministry, in part because I feared I was being called to be a priest again, I kind of renounced all my gifts. So part of my journey has been to try to reclaim these gifts so that I may help others. But beyond words and healing hands, I wish to learn about herbal medicine and healing the spirit.

On this path, I have read from many different sources. One of the first books that helped me to open my heart to many paths was a book called Seven Masters One Path by John Selby. John brings together teaching from seven great masters, Krishnamurti, Lao-tzu, Buddha, Jesus, Mohammed, Gurdjieff, and Patanjali in one book to help people to find ways to meditate. I thought at the time, what a concept. Here was a book that actually took these seven teachers from different philosophies and brought them together as equals. No one was saying, you have to believe this, or that, just a collection of great wisdom. So I opened my learning to include Buddhist wisdom, Native American teachings, and even some Hindu teachings. One particular one, I often quote:

“There are hundreds of paths up the mountain,
all leading in the same direction,
so it doesn’t matter which path you take.
The only one wasting time is the one
who runs around and around the mountain,
telling everyone else that their path is wrong.”

Hindu Teaching

I found such profound wisdom in this that I have reposted it on my many blog sites. Another that I found profound came from the Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama:

"Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it."

How many of us follow a path simply because those who have come before us have done so? We may feel a calling to walk this way or that, but because of tradition, dogma, or just simple peer pressure we follow the path others dictate for us. I offer another quote:

"Leaders don’t force people to follow –they invite them on a journey." – Charles S. Lauer

So I invite you on a journey. A journey of discovery of your own path, your own destiny. I pray that you will step back and look at your beliefs, your dogmas, and reread the quote above from the Buddha. Ask if this truth that you have been following is your truth.

Of course, this isn't always as easy as saying it. One thing on my journey that I have had to attempt to overcome is the societal and religious constraints put on us. When it comes to things spiritual we are told what to believe and what not. If we are to open our hearts and explore our own spiritual path, we have to quell the feelings of disbelief and open ourselves up to the great possibility that we may experience things beyond wonder. The problem I have had is that from a very young age, I was hit with "There is no such things as ghosts", "I believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth. I believe in one Holy Roman and Apostolic church...". How can one overcome a lifetime of being told that there is just one way and supernatural things don't exist? It has been a lot to overcome, but I have seen and heard things that have slowly whittled away at those old beliefs. But they still are there in the shadows ready to jump out and say, this isn't real, I was thinking about this the other day as I was reading a collection of essays in the book, Toward 2012: Perspectives on the Next Age by Daniel Pinchbeck and Ken Jordan

Let me preface before I continue that I have suffered back problems for a while now. I have some arthritis in my back as well as scoliosis and slight whiplash from an accident about six years ago. One of the spots that I have a lot of trouble with is right between the shoulder blades. it feels like someone takes an ice pick and plunges it right into my spine. I see a chiro who fixes me up, but given the amount I drive and moving disk arrays and servers, it doesn't take long to get out of whack again. Of course, the insurance company in their infinite wisdom limits me to twelve visits a year, so the rest of the time, I have to live with the pain. That being said.....

I was reading one of the essays and it introduced a new phenomenon that I had not quite heard of yet, WingMakers. In the essay, the author talks about their experience in "getting their wings". There are some that believe that the approach of 2012 signals the entering into the fifth world and an evolution of man into Homo Luminous. As part of this, some surmise that we will "sprout wings" and take on a more angelic appearance. Of course, as I stated before I have a lot of old dogma to overcome and first impression was to scoff. Right at that moment, as that thought was entering my mind, that stabbing right between the shoulder blades happens. Was it Carl Jung that said there is no such thing as synchronicity? Let me tell you, when you are reading such a thing and then get hit with excruciating pain right in the place where the person is saying that their wings were budding, you really begin to wonder. One of the thoughts that flashed in my head was a memory of my Air Force days. I had been upstairs in Bubba Brown's room with some of the guys playing cards. Of course, being servicemen, with poker, there is drinking. At one point, one of the guys lunged across the table and grabbed Bubba around the throat. He said the devil was inside of Bubba and he had to kill him. Three guys tried to pull him off but couldn't make him budge. I placed a hand on his shoulder and his whole continence changed and he relaxed and released. As soon as I let go, he was back at Bubba. I was not restraining him. I merely touched him. I touched his shoulder again and he released Bubba. I told the guys to get Bubba in the other room and I told his attacker that I was going to take him back to his dorm. He looked at me and smiled. He told me, "I see an angel in you". I kept my hand on his shoulder all the way back to the dorm and when I got him in his room, he just flopped on his bed and passed out. I tell you, it made me start to question.
Of course, wouldn't the next essay in that book be from a former Evangelical who spoke about how we need to relook at Christianity. I think the title was that we had to get Christ out of Christianity. I think it is more like we have to get him back in as he had some great teachings.

I think in the end encountering things like this that make you question and help us to throw off the bonds. As we move from NO WAY, to do you think it is possible? We begin to open our minds and hearts to greater possibilities. Some say that all this hoopla about 2012 and ascension or new worlds, is just a bunch of hoo hah, but what if? What if we stand on the brink of a great jump in the evolution in man and the only thing holding us back is that voice from the past saying, "There's no such thing as ghosts"? What if we free our minds as many indigenous cultures do and open our hearts to the spirits that walk the earth, that may just help and guide us. What if?

Maybe it is just getting old, or a touch of nostalgia, or just becoming senile. Who knows, but I found myself trying to look up old friends on the Internet. Let me tell you, that is no easy task. This is especially so, when so many years have past. I don't know what has gotten me in this mood, but I just feel a need to reach out and connect with people I loved so long ago. Like those from my days at Little Rock AFB. When you are in the service you are sometimes more than just friends, but you become family. Now finding the guys is hard enough, but how do you find the women when many may have taken on another name?
I tell you there are many people who I have walked along with through my life. They remain in my memory and always will. Some, I remember their face, in one particular case, their shape, but forgotten their name. Some may have passed on like my good friend Reverend Purdie. I was spiraling down, drinking heavily, when that man helped me to name my demons and turn my life around. My Air Force career would have been ruined and was very close to being so, had he not sat me down. There was Carl, one of the other cooks, but I can't remember his last name, and of course, Rose Marie Harris. All good people. My partner in crime, Mark Watts. We had such a great time together. I had one of the best teams with Mark, Mary Hernandez (engaged at the time to Oscar Ortiz), Yung Cho Healey, Candy Hart, Dottie Chavers, Mama san Chung, Aura Tyte ( I think that was how you spelled her name.) Candy was Dottie's Daughter. Dottie and her husband Jim and I were friends after work also. Oh, and Blondie. I will always remember her as Blondie, though for the life of me can't remember her real name. Others that I hung around with or teamed with every now and then, Dave Kristofferson, Clay Wickham. Clay, his wife Sue, and Karen Shadowens used to hang together. I still remember Noreen Malenga who was Karen's roommate and whom I dated for a bit. My buddy Carl Bullock, who at first we were at each others throat and old Dusty Rhodes had to separate us, but in the end, we were the mobility team that went every where together. There was Ron Krank, and Manny Roman. Roger Samples did the crash kitchen. Bubba Brown and the Bubbettes. Bubba and Clay were from up my way as well as Ron. I remember the uptimes and the down times when we lost Washington in a plane crash. He had come through the line that night and Mark and I fed him, joked as we usually did. I got the call later that night that the plane went down and to alert mortuary services that they had bodies coming in. It still makes me cry to remember that night.
I remember Jim Chavers having to go in for a procedure, er um, down below. Dottie rolled when I stopped at Bayou Catfish Kitchen and brought Jim's favorite. Beans with Jalepenos. I can still hear him when I shut his El Camino's doors, "Take it easy Croft, this ain't a Ford". I had a Torino at the time. I had the hots for Candy, but then so did every other guy on the base. I used to go to her apartment and I think her roommate had the hots for me. She must have, she came out one time in a towel and just let it drop. I just wish I could remember her name. As it turned out, we had mutual relations around the third cousin level.
I tell you if it wasn't for Reverend Purdie, I would have missed out on some great times and some great people. I just wish I could reconnect with some. I found Cruize on Classmates a few years back. I'll never forget when a bunch of us jumped in Danny Stephens truck and drove up to Heber Springs to jump off the cliffs. We put a vodka bottle in the end of a watermelon and wrapped it in a towel. As we drop up the road with it cradled, it looked like we were giving vodka to a baby. The looks we got, but boy was that watermelon good. Of course, drinking and jumping off cliffs isn't exactly smart and I got a broken toe out of the deal, but hey, young, stupid, yep, me.
Another time, Kristofferson and I took a bunch of people out horseback riding. Kris and I used to go to this place a lot and were familiar with the horses. I always took Red, he was on Whitey. One of the guys that came said he was experienced so they gave him Blue. Well, Kris and I trotted on up ahead of the others because the slow pace was killing us. When I came back to check on the others, they were pointing into the woods and told me that Blue took off that way. I told them to wait for Kris and took off into the woods. I got Blue and darn, I can't remember his name, cornered in some brush. I told him to get off Blue and get on Red. He did and then started arguing with me about which way to go to get back to the others. He started off away from everyone, but heh, Red was trained, I whistled for him and he turned around with Ozzie cursing me. I got him back to the others and he had to listen to the ribbing. I guess not everyone from Oklahoma knows how to ride.
Of course there we were caught off guard. We pulled a twelve overnight one time and then took off to Heber Springs for the day. Got back in time to go back to work and pull another twelve. Dog tired by morning and ready to hit our racks when I got the call. Call your men in, this is an alert. Dang, so much for sleep. Wait until the next crew came in to relieve, off to the barracks, change into fatiques, grab duffle and head to the flight line, off to Missouri, set up camp, and then finally get to crash. I was wiped by the time we got back to base, but there was Fred Jenkins telling me I had to work, but sending Mark home. Well, he was married and his wife missed him. Dang, I hated being single at times.
I guess those days in the service will always stay with me. I was fortunate to be between wars. The closest I came was when the hostages were taken in Iran. We were mounted up and ready to go. With the team I had, I think we could have pulled it off. Had I not been stuck in Arkansas for my full hitch, I might have reupped. If they had given me England, I would have been there. Instead, I let my Irish get up and quit the service. Heck, I could have been retired by now.
So if any of you happen along Bossier City and run into Dottie and Jim, tell them I said hey! Last I knew, Mark was still in North Little Rock, though his wife Betty was from Memphis area. Manny is probably back in New York. Ron, maybe in Mass. Danny Stephens in Texas, and Jack Stephens in Illinois, I think. Mary may be back in San Antonio.
I guess I have rambled on for long enough. Let me leave you with something Jack Stephens used to say, "Can't ya see, can't ya tell, don't ya know?" Man that guy could sing I've Been Everywhere better than anyone I know.
Good friends, good memories.
Thanks for listening.

If you light a lamp for for somebody, it will brighten your path. - Buddhist saying

Whenever we refer to things that are not good, we say they are dark things. Are they truly dark? Or is it that they just don't have enough light shining on them. Over the past few writings, I have sought to bring a light on those things that I perceive are keeping us from finding that world of light, harmony, peace, and abundance for all. Even if it was just a spark of light, it was at least something. As the saying states above, I also took the time as I was writing to look at how I related to others and the world around me. In attempting to shine a light for others to see some of the things I see as things that separate us, I also could look at things in a new light. The question that plays in my mind is have I shown even  a spark?

Sometimes our light goes out but is blown into a flame by another human being. Each of us owes our deepest thanks to those who have rekindled this light. - Albert Schweitzer

Given the counts or comments that i have seen, so very few people have gone to, let alone read, what I have written. I have truly believed that I was guided to write what I did. If so, to who was it intended? Yet, as I have come to learn, sometimes it is just that one little spark that gets passed on and soon the spark draws into a flame that grows into a fire. The question is, how can I fan those flames? We have grown so disconnected not only from the world around us, but from each other. In our striving to succeed, be noticed, get ahead, we have put more and more barriers between us. So what can we do? After all, what good is pointing the things that separate us without also offering possible paths of reconnection.

Well for one, start honoring each others paths. Stop being the one running round and round the mountain telling everyone else they are on the wrong path. Take the time to learn and understand others paths. In removing ignorance, we can keep ourselves from being drawn into the hate and prejudice that separate us. We can start by not getting drawn into the hate being put against Muslims around the world. The whole religion is being condemned because of terrorists who happen to be Muslim. If we were to do that, Christians would have a lot to answer to, ask any former prisoner of the Indian Schools. We need to stop treating whole religions, countries or races for the acts of people who are a subset of those groups. Maybe if we all got a copy of Idiot's Guide to Islam, or Hinduism, or any of the other faiths that we interact, don't understand, and need to understand in order to accept and relate. 

Another thing we can do is to start looking at how we relate to each other. Whenever we have a negative feeling towards another, take a moment to ask ourselves why? What is it about this other person that makes us feel off? In’ lakesh, I am another you. Think of this when relating to another. Think of them as another copy of you on a different path, with different clothes, maybe a different skin color, hair, eyes. If it really was another you, what would you say to them? What would you ask them? What could you learn from them?

Rather than accepting what our leaders tell us about another country, go to the library, buy a book, learn for yourself. Buddha Gautama Siddhartha said, "“Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.” Why then do we simply accept what is spoon fed us by the media and our own government. Who knows, maybe you might just find some interesting things about these other countries that you never knew.

Get out to the woods! I can not stress this enough. I do not get out to the woods enough and I practically lived there as a boy. The only way we are going to learn to respect nature is to get out in it. If we become familiar with that tree or stream or stone, would we so readily plow it over? Wonder out in the woods and find a stump or rock to sit on for a bit and just sit out in the quiet of the woods and take it all in. Soon, you will find that it isn't so quiet. The woods are alive with sound. Whether it is the jay screaming "tief, tief", or the woodpecker rat-a-tat-tatting on the tree above you, or the squirrel scampering on the branches, the rabbit hopping along, or the croaking of the frog, the chirp of the cricket, the wind whispering in the pine, the woods are a cacophony of sound. Sit there for a bit and look around at all the trees and wildlife. Okay, now picture it as a parking lot and shopping center, or a new housing development where the trees have all been leveled and houses that no one can afford have been erected.  Can you let these new relations be wiped out for another Walmart?

I wish I knew what to suggest on the job front. Too many companies are laying off more and more people to balance their books and keep the money going to shareholders, but then sit scratching their heads because sales are down. Um, duh, you aren't the only company laying off and with everyone worrying about surviving, there is no discretionary cash to spend on a new TV or Blue Ray player. Got to love Hyundai's new commercials saying that if you lose your job, they will buy your car back. Okay, but a car basically drops $1,000 in value going out of the lot, are they going to pay you what you owe? Or are they going to give you blue book? I understand the mentality. It is all about trying to sell cars when no one is buying because of the economy. But I digress as I usually do. The other problem with trying to change the mindset of corporations is that upper management is not going to listen. Worse, I have even heard it said before the last time we were in a down economy, you don't like it, go get another job. They know you are stuck and take advantage of it. The Big Three automakers didn't get it when they were pointing their finger at labor costs as the major problem as they arrived in their private jets. Hey, I am open to any suggestions from people that might help others to change the mindset of corporate America.

When it comes down to it, we are the spark. If we don't start fanning the flames of change, nothing will ever change. As Desmond Tutu said, "Do your little bit of good where you are; its those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world." I think the first step in doing this is to look at our own hearts. Take a few minutes each day and remind yourself as you start the day that we are truly all related. Say to yourself that each and every person you meet during the day is another aspect of yourself. If you encounter someone that you find offense with, instead of focusing out towards them, ask yourself, am I seeing within them something that I don't like about myself? have I ever acted like this person to another? Am I judging this person on preconceived notions, learned prejudices, or even media influences? Now look at that person again. Is there something in that person that you see as good? Are we so locked on the negative that we cannot see past it to find that good?

For the past two years I have been writing on Unity and Reconnecting. I have felt that I was led to write the things I have. That it was now time for the people to come together. One heart, one spirit. I have been disillusioned over the two years, feeling that though I was guided to write what I have, no one was reading. Well, some of you were. I have had some tell me that my writings are too long and take too long to read. I am only being the "hollow bone" as Grandfather Fools Crow says. I just start and let it flow. I have been told that a white person doesn't belong walking the red path. They told me to go be a Buddhist. All I can respond to that is thanks, as I took the time to read some Buddhist writings and found more great wisdom there, including the quote from the Buddha that I included above. My path has led me on many winding roads that has exposed me to many traditions, wisdoms, situations, and especially the people who have helped me to learn and grow. So yes, while I was trying to light the path, that light shown for me to see new things and look at life and my own connections in a new way.

I think I am going to take some time to address my own path. I truly want to get back to the woods. I also have another three sand paintings that I was supposed to have made last year, but kept putting off. I have to finish the pipe bag that I have to bead the turtle on. I have to basically get back to my own training so that I can better serve the people. To think that much of this all started with the vision of the turtle that is in the picture here. The shell is divided into thirteen segments. Three of each of the four colors and the center of the shell a combination of all the colors representing the coming together. This is the turtle that I painted with colored sands on the desert floor during a ceremony in New Mexico. I painted the same turtle of colored sand on a granite ledge back here in Massachusetts. I truly believed that the ceremony that I performed was to set the spirit of that turtle free to travel across all of turtle island to unite the people. It is said that at Black Elk's passing, he wept because he did not see his vision come to fruition. I pray that I will have a different fate. I pray that the spirit of unity that the turtle represents will cross all of turtle island and that somehow, someway, the people will reconnect with each other. Instead of fighting over scarcer and scarcer resources we will come together to find solution that will help all people.  It all starts with ourselves. We have to start relating to each other from the heart. We have to treat each other and all of creation as if each person that we encounter, whether human, tree person, rock person, four legged, winged, or others, as if they were another of ourselves. We especially need to stop looking at nature as a thing to be plundered.
I am another you.
My heart to your heart, one heart, one spirit.

We seem to be constantly looking for way to differentiate ourselves, to separate ourselves from others. Is it ego that drives this need to be different, better, special? Over the past few writings I have talked about the many ways that we have come to push ourselves apart from each other, to disconnect from each other, and from all of life. Whether we  use imaginary boundaries and call them countries, differences in the way we perceive our spiritual beliefs and call it religion, or differences in the shades of our skin and call it race, we try to find the smallest difference and blow it up and point to it to say, "See, I am better than you!" As if this weren't bad enough, we also use sex, gender, and sexual orientation as one more weapon in our arsenal of separation.
Before I get too deep into this, let me first differentiate between these three. While many applications may read sex or gender when referring to the request for information as to whether you are a man or a woman, the truth is, that should say sex. Sex is the physiological differentiation between men and women. Of course, we are so into our black and white world, that we see this as an either/or proposition. Yet, in truth, all three are linear and we fall some place on the line. There are some who are born with both male and female genitalia. Decisions are made either by the doctor or the parents and the sex is decided by others. In one such case, the person grew up with a condition known in the DSM-IV as Gender Dysphoria. This is where they grow up feeling that they are in conflict with their bodies. They perceive themselves to be a gender opposite than what their physical attributes would say. In other words, they may feel they are a woman in a man's body. Or they may feel they are a man in a woman's body. In the aforementioned case, the person grew up with gender dysphoria and then found out later that they had been born with both genitalia and the doctor made a choice. They sought out the doctor to kill them. In this case, the doctor guessed wrong. This isn't always the case though. Please do not confuse transgendered people with transexuals. There is a distinct difference between the two.
Gender is the way we perceive ourselves regardless of our genitalia. This is also linear and not quite black and white. We sometimes see this as masculine and feminine traits. We don't fall either distinctly as one or the other but rather fall somewhere along the line. For the most part our minds are in alignment with our bodies, but if people understood what people who suffer gender dysphoria had to go through, they wouldn't be giving the sneers and jeers behind their backs.
The same can be said for sexual preference. Of course California's passing of Proposition 8 shows how we use sexual preference to separate us. Why is it so important for people to push their own idea of right and wrong on others? Science has shown us that even in the animal kingdom there are gay animals. There is some evidence that it may be genetically passed down. I have one question for those who are so against gays have equal rights as everyone else, and use God as their justification, what if he intentionally created gays in order to control population? Why, if God is so against it, there is evidence of gay animals? I think it was in Legally Blond 2 that the Senator admits his dog is gay. Yet, if you mention science, then those against claim that it is Gay agenda and not real science. The thing is what if all those who claim that it is against God are wrong. What if it is God's intention? Are you willing to continue to say that gays are lesser than you and an abomination? Of course, there are those that will say that maybe those who speak loudest against and are most fearful of the "gay agenda" really are afraid of their own desires. After all, just as sex and gender aren't exactly black and white, neither is sexual orientation. We actually fall somewhere along a line. Sometimes having feelings for both sexes, or bisexual. The "B" in LGBT. (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered). 
Of course, there is still issues between men and woman and the "gender barrier" known as the glass ceiling. This spawned the feminist movement that sought to bring equality. It took many years, but a woman can be a CEO of a company now. Back in the 60's, the Civil Rights movement sought to level the playing field with regards to race. Today we have a black man on the verge of being President. Why can't we skip the whole movement and just shoot straight for equality and just accept everyone as an equal?
Maybe if we focused more on our own paths and not spending so much time telling everyone else they are on the wrong path, we all can get up the mountain without stepping on everyone else to get there.
My heart to your heart, one heart, one spirit.

What a curious sort is man. We are always saying how  much we want peace and harmony in our lives, yet we do everything possible to prevent it. Think about this for a moment. There are two driving forces to having a "successful" life, fame and fortune. We hear this so often. He has gone off to seek his fame and fortune. Yet, when you think about it, these two driving forces are at odds with what we claim to desire, peace and harmony. For in seeking out fame and fortune, we have to compete with others in order to amass that fortune or bring notoriety to ourselves. This is not to say that we don't, at times, work together towards that common goal, but for the most part, it is a solitary pursuit. These two are like the cocaine of life though. Once you have that taste, you want more and more until you can no longer control the desire, it controls you. How many times have we heard about Hollywood heroes who have meltdowns despite having the fame and fortune? How many times have we heard about the bad behaviour of the rich and famous, or the power mongers of our society?
How can people who supposedly have so much, be so unhappy? I don't know how many times I have heard someone say that if they had their money, they wouldn't act like that. Want to bet? Ego drives our desire to be known, to be more than what we are. Ego is never satiated. It is always hungry for more and more attention. It is a gluttony of the mind. We acknowledge this, even if unwittingly in our terms, he has a big head, she is full of herself. We would like to believe that if we were in the same position that we would not act in such a way. Yet, are we sure we wouldn't? And why are these people unhappy? Could it be that as ego grows it begins to take any criticism or negative comment as a personal attack?
Fortune is much the same in that it is an unquenchable thirst.  Once we have tasted we desire more. We are driven by the desire to amass. The more we amass, the more we feel we need to protect that which we have amassed. Often times, we put more energy into protecting our things than we do our friends and families. The further along this path we go, the less we see others and their needs and only have eyes for things that we covet? Why else would someone with millions of dollars spend hundreds of thousands to retrofit a jetliner so that it is like an Airstream in the sky?
I remember for myself as a young man thinking if only I could make $15,000 a year, I would be set. Once I made it there, it became $20,000 and so on and so forth, until I came to realize that as my income grew, so did my desire for things. So I was stuck on a treadmill that there is no end to. No matter how much you make, your desires grow to match and you are always chasing the carrot. Once I stopped needed to have things, my need to increase my income also abated. I found that I could continue to live on the same amount with maybe the occasional adjustment for inflation.I found the need to compete abated also. I was all ready pretty sure that I wasn't destined for fame and fortune, so my ego was pretty much in check.
So let's say for the moment, that we come to the realization that fame and fortune are like a drug that we will never get enough of. Suppose we break our addiction to this, can we also change the way we deal with others?
One of the needs of ego is to promote ourselves, to make ourselves seem more important than others. We sometimes do this at the expense of others by trying to diminish them in some way. How many times do we hear about how someone stepped on others on their way to the top. Of course, getting to the top brings along the baggage of insecurity that someone is going to topple you. So you demean those you feel threatened by so as to raise yourself up. Bullies are notorious for this. The most insecure people are bullies. They need to put others down in order to make themselves feel good.
It is this desire or need to elevate ourselves that brought about bigotry and prejudice. We seek out that differentiating quality in others whether it is their race, creed, sex, sexual orientation, or even blemishes or deformities. We use that difference so as to say, see you are not like me so I am better than you. You then set out to diminish them in some way. The Civil Rights movement came about because African Americans had had enough. Many whites believed blacks to be inferior yet, do we not now have a black President? Native Americans in this country were thought to be uneducated savages, yet wasn't it Chief John Ross of the Cherokee who took the State of Georgia to the US Supreme Court and won? Of course, it was a bittersweet defeat as President Andrew Jackson told the court, they made the ruling, now try to enforce it, and then ordered the removal of the Cherokee and others to the Indian Territory. This march in the dead of winter in which many lost their lives came to be known as the Trail of Tears. When you look at all the inventions in Asia including the transistors that miniaturized the radio, how can anyone deny intelligence there also. Just because we are different, does not make us less. We must be careful of the yardstick we use to measure. There is a prophesy, I believe it was Hopi, in which it talks of the four races being sent off in four directions to learn different things. At a time in the future, all the colors would come back together and share the wisdom of what they found and this would bring about a time of peace and harmony for all people. Yet, if we do not open our hearts to each other, how can we come together? There are also those who follow the crystal skulls that believe that these skulls when brought together will release great knowledge that will help us in the future. They will only come together when we as a people come together. For as long as greed and power blanket the earth, the information imparted could be put to bad use.
If we truly desire peace and harmony in our lifetime, then we as a people need to make a concerted effort to look at the way we treat others. We must learn to accept each other with all our differences. We need to treat others as we would treat ourselves. Not just say the words, but act on them. When the day comes when we don't have to have protests against discrimination like Proposition 8 in California, when we can learn to accept each other as another of ourselves on a different path, a different journey, and respect that, only then will we begin to bring peace and harmony into our lives. We need to take a look at our lives and what we deem important. We need to look at how we treat others, and maybe even take stand with our brothers and sisters in support of equality.
There is a quote that I will paraphrase as I can't remember its source.
"Do not stand in front of me, for I may not follow. Do not stand behind me, for I may not lead.Stand beside me and share the journey."
My heart to your heart, one heart, one spirit.

Continuing on with the theme of working to remove the impediments that keep us from coming together, one heart, one spirit, I would like to turn my attention to countries.
No borders
No fences
No walls
No borders
No fences
Unbound
From Unbound by Robbie Robertson.

If it isn't religions that seek to keep us separate, it is our own "motherlands". How long had the US and Russia been at odds. Each of our countries telling us that the other was evil. Yet, if individual people from each of the prospective countries were to come together, we would find that they would be sharing in the dance and music if given the opportunity. Yet, in some cases, these very same countries actually make it illegal for you to associate with someone from a supposed "enemy" country. Imagine being jailed for simply stopping to have a drink and a laugh with a stranger. Imagine being jailed or at least subjected to extreme questioning and suspicion for simply breaking bread. Yet, that has happened and in some cases continues to happen. Imagine that you are subjected to questioning simply for being of a certain decent. Yet isn't that what is happening to many around the world? Where do these suspicions come from? Our governments continue to tout propaganda regarding other countries to instill fear so that we will not come together as a people and find that the emperors have no clothes!
Can you imagine the richness of our cultures if all our wisdom, all our songs, all our dances were allowed to be shared?
There are so many prophesies that talk of a time when we all will come together to do such a thing. According to one, each of the races was sent off into a different direction so that they could concentrate on their own wisdom. When the time was right, they would all come together and share what they had found. This would bring about a time of peace, balance, and harmony. What happened? Well, for one, we have religions that try to tell you they are the one true religion and that you have to follow them. Two, our own governments that try to make us believe that all others are lying and that we are the one true "heroes" of the world and whatever we do is for the good of all. The thing is, if you even question this, then they denounce you as unpatriotic, a traitor, a communist, or socialist.
Where did these borders come from? Where did these artificial lines in the sand arise from? Why do we continuously feel that we need to build these fences? Whether it is the Great Wall of China, the Berlin Wall, or this spiffy new wall they are building along our southern border.
Our governments work overtime to make sure that we are fearful of others. They need to. This was no more evident than under this latest administration that took a horrendous act and fanned the flames of hate, fear, and distrust. In just a few months, this country looked on every Middle Eastern person, whether a first, second, third, or even fourth generation, with distrust and fear. People who got on a plane with someone from Middle Eastern decent, or even looked Middle Eastern, would cause great unease. Unspoken questions about whether they were there to hijack yet another plane. The old Cold War game of distrust was put back in full force and helped to stir the drums of war. We were led to believe that our government was here to defend us from these terrorists. So we went into Iraq. Hmmm, wasn't it Osama Bin Laden that attacked us? Oh that's right, weapons of mass destruction. What, there wasn't any? Well, we have the troops over there anyway...
The thing is, our leaders, no matter what country, have a propensity to instill fear in the populace in order to take their power from them. After all, we have to surrender our power to them so they can protect us. That is why it was so easy to pass the UnPatriot Act, um, sorry, the Patriot Act, to take away our rights and give the government more power. The US is not the only government guilty of this.
We are told that the fence along our southern border needs to be put in place to stem the tide of illegal aliens coming in and stealing our jobs, our government services, our healthcare. Yeah, they are taking the real choice jobs aren't they? Let's see, laborers, hotel maids, dishwashers, farm workers, yep the choice jobs that every American is clamoring for. I worked for a hotel company and they could not get enough people to take those hotel maid, busboy, laundry, and other cleaning jobs so they had to bring in workers from Jamaica for the summer. Yet, they stirred up all this brouhaha about closing the borders and set about building a wall along our southern border. Oh, but we can skip over that golf course because hey, illegals don't cross the fourteenth tee. So we don't need to build the wall right through the golf course, but those houses over there are okay to build through. The fear fermented so much that we can no longer just drive up to Niagra Falls unless we want to stay on the Buffalo side. We have to apply and get approved for a passport. So we have to go through all this government questioning to get a passport just so we can cross a bridge to Niagra. No more can you just take a cruise over to Bermuda without first getting grilled by the government in order to get a passport. Who are they trying to protect? Or is it just another way to gain more information about the populace? My only concern is that they will give me a passport just to get me out of the country and then not let me back in. Which of course can happen if you make it on their list or have a name similar to one that is on the list.
Can you imagine a world without all these fences and borders? John Lennon posed that question in his song, Imagine. One of the big reasons that you hear from those wishing to impede the flow of illegals is that they are taking from resources that should be going to our own citizens. Yet weren't we supposedly one of the most prosperous countries in the world, yet we couldn't share? Part of the reason that many Mexicans and other illegals come into this country is seeking a better life. Yes, they don't follow the right channels, channels that are bureaucratic and slow. Their families are hungry now. Imagine for a moment if we did away with all the borders, all the fences, all the nationalities. Imagine if we truly acted in the true spirit of religion, coming from the heart. Imagine if we saw that people in another area of the world were starving and we brought them food and medicine without asking for anything in return. No negotiations for land, resources, mineral rights, just out and out love for one another. What would this world be like if we didn't have a flag to fight for?
Imagine.
I have read in numerous writings that it is time to bring balance back to the world. For too long the world has been dominated by male, especially alpha male, energies. This has kept the world at war and out of balance. Maybe it is time to pull in the fangs and claws and start introducing more feminine energy to the world. Note, that I am not saying to put women in complete charge, but a balance. It will be a long tough road to get there given that there are many areas where women are considered chattel.
I guess the point I am trying to make is that it is time to stop taking our governments at face value and start questioning the reasoning behind their actions. When we hear someone questioning the government and getting assailed for doing so, stand up for them and say, there is a true patriot for they have the courage to stand and ask the questions. Remember, that here in America, it is supposed to be a government of the people, by the people, for the people. If you, the people, aren't asking the questions of the government, then you have given your power away and deserve whatever government you get. We are at a crossroads with a new government coming into play. It is time to take a stand and have a voice. It is time for the people to hold their government accountable for whatever lies and deceptions may have transpired over these past years. It is time to chart a new direction. Not a direction born of fear, hatred, and hoarding of resources, but one of heart. One heart, one spirit, one people. No borders, no fences, unbound. It is time to let our spirits soar free from fear.It is time to break down the walls and fences that divide us and take the time to learn of these other cultures and remove the ignorance that divides us. Maybe if we stop seeing those on the other side as enemy, we might see that they are just like us, just trying to survive in this world of diminishing resources. Maybe if we start to come together as a world community instead of individual countries clamoring for resources to hoard, we might just find that bringing together the wisdom of all the people may be just what we need to find our way out of the morass we have gotten ourselves into.

I will leave you with a quote I used in the last blog. I think it is just as fitting in this one.
Leaders don’t force people to follow – they invite them on a journey. – Charles S. Lauer

If your leaders need to resort to fear and division in order to lead, then they are not true leaders. What we truly need at this time are not leaders in power, but healers. Maybe President-elect should invite the Grandmother's Council to bring their feminine wisdom into his cabinet. As I write this, the image of Grandmother Mona Polacca comes to mind.
www.nativevillage.org/Interna...page.htm

There is something about her. I feel it.
My heart to your heart, one heart, one spirit.

You hear many speak of envisioning a new world. They believe by us concentrating on the world we would like to see, we can bring it about. This is all well and good, but I think we have to move beyond just thinking about the world as we wish to see it, and start to take actions to make it so. Unfortunately, in order to do this, we have to work on changing the mindset of the people. In my last blog, I spoke about our current economic status and how we have to change the way corporate America sees its people. In the next couple of blogs I hope to look at ways that maybe we can start changing our mindset with regard to religion, countries, races, and gender/sexual orientation/sex.

In this first segment on religion, I would like to explore ways that we can get beyond the dogmatic beliefs of religion that work against the people coming together. I often quote an old Hindu teaching:

“There are hundreds of paths up the mountain,
all leading in the same direction,
so it doesn’t matter which path you take.
The only one wasting time is the one
who runs around and around the mountain,
telling everyone else that their path is wrong.”

I find this to be good wisdom in that it basically says that we should honor each others paths. There are those who believe that we are not humans having spiritual journey, but rather spirits on a human journey. If that is the case, then couldn't it be possible that we each may have our own spiritual direction. Yet, we always seem to follow the path and beliefs of our fathers and mothers. Though in truth, this may not be our own calling. Belief.net has a questionnaire that one can take to see how your own beliefs, your own feelings align with various belief systems.
http://www.beliefnet.com/Entertainment/Quizzes/BeliefOMatic.aspx

It would be interesting to note just how closely our results from this test are aligned with the religions that we have been following. I was raised Catholic, but never really believed in it. I had a tough time reciting the Nicene Creed. I just couldn't buy that the Catholic Church was the one and only. I was more at home in the wood. I found peace in sitting in a small glade with the sun filtering through the trees, the squirrels, rabbits, and birds around. Listening to the babble of the brook as it ran over the rocks. This was my church. This was where my spirit was alive. Yet, I followed the belief of my parents even to the point of going to the Chancellery to see about becoming a priest. You see, I have always been seen as a spiritual person and given that I was Catholic, many believed I should be a priest. For the longest time, I endured being called Father Ed. Yet, I never really believed in the church. I think I would like to be a spiritual leader, but I don't know as I could be a part of an organized religion.

It seems like the major religions are more about control and domination. The Catholic church has a real dark side in this concern. There is still in effect a Papal Bull regarding the taking of lands from non-believers. This was put in place before Columbus and was one of the reasons Columbus had the "authority" to do what he did to the people he encountered. The Grandmother's Council recently went to the Vatican in hopes of meeting with the Pope and having this rescinded. The Pope decided to get out of town and went on vacation.  The Grandmothers Council is a group of indigenous Grandmother, elders, who have come together from many traditions in order to bring about change. http://www.grandmotherscouncil.com/  Of course, it isn't just the Catholics, look at the Muslims, and their Jihads. Mind you, it isn't the religion itself per se, but the leaders who seek to dominate and control. If one were to follow the true teachings of Jesus or Mohamed, we would have a lot more tolerance in the world. Some theologians believe that Jesus had traveled with John of Arimethea to learn of  other beliefs. It is said that in the Gospel of Thomas, once thought of as heretical by the Catholic church, not sure if it still is, that Hindu and Buddhist influences can be read in the quotes. In short, I believe that if any religion tells you they are the only one, they are the true religion, unless you follow them, you will not be saved, RUN! Oh, and if they talk about having a Kool-aid party, um, pass.

I have always thought that if religions were not so afraid of losing power they would consider allowing the teaching of a diverse set of beliefs so that people can find their own paths. Even if the young people, in the end, stay with their parent's religion and beliefs, they at least would have been exposed to these other beliefs, removing the ignorance that prevents us from honoring and respecting other paths.

When you find yourself saying negative things about other religions, ask yourself, "What do I really know about this religion? Am I just following the ignorance and hatred of others? How can I learn about other religions and beliefs so that I can remove my own ignorance and learn to accept their path?" Mind you, I know these days with all the hype about how all Muslims are terrorists, which is a total fabrication in order to to control through fear and hatred, it is hard to see other religions in a good light. I ask that you not buy into the negative images and take time to learn for yourself. Go to Amazon or your favorite book store, and on their search put in, "idiots guide to buddhism" or hinduism, or islam. Another resource for books on religions is Oxford University Press. http://www.oup.com/us/catalog/general/subject/ReligionTheology/?view=usa
The thing is to get beyond ignorance and not be drawn in by others ignorance but take the time to learn for ourselves and share what we learn with others. In this way, we remove ignorance. Of course, you will have some, like that priest that I wrote about back around Father's Day, who will tell you not to listen to these others. It is out of fear that these words are spoken.

Oh, and how did I make out on the quiz from Belief.net?
1.     Neo-Pagan  (100%)
2.     New Age (89%)
3.     Mahayana Buddhism (87%)
4.     Unitarian Universalism (85%)
5.     Liberal Quakers (81%)
6.     Jainism (70%)
7.     Theravada Buddhism (70%)
8.     Sikhism (69%)
9.     Hinduism (69%)
10.     Scientology (68%)
11.     New Thought (66%)
12.     Reform Judaism (65%)
13.     Taoism (62%)
14.     Baha'i Faith (61%)
15.     Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (59%)
16.     Secular Humanism (55%)
17.     Orthodox Quaker (53%)
18.     Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (48%)
19.     Orthodox Judaism (48%)
20.     Islam (43%)
21.     Nontheist (30%)
22.     Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (29%)
23.     Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (25%)
24.     Seventh Day Adventist (25%)
25.     Eastern Orthodox (24%)
26.     Roman Catholic (24%)
27.     Jehovah's Witness (18%)

With Roman Catholic coming in at number 26, is it any wonder I had trouble becoming a priest? I had thought about joining the local UU church, but then we were considering moving so I figured I would wait. I know what I believe, I just need a community that shares my beliefs. In the meantime,  I will continue to learn so as to remove ignorance from my own mind. I pray that others will follow this path also.

I believe that many religions can learn from this quote:
Leaders don’t force people to follow – they invite them on a journey. – Charles S. Lauer

I will leave you with one more quote from the Buddha.
Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.
    The Buddha

(FYI- what is NOT mentioned in this article is the fact that the Oglala aquifer is a HUGE water supply line... much of it has its "headwaters" in the area where our relatives have been fighting uranium mining for YEARS! The "powers that be" have yet to be testing for as much as they need to be thanks to the proliferation of the large-scale factory farms and their massive levels of nitrates dumping into our waters! Well, I guess this goes to prove just how far reaching the damage can spread from the origin of contaminations of ALL kinds!)
bluejay



Uranium Found in Kansas Drinking Water Supplies

http://www. ens-newswire. com/ens/nov2008/2008-11-28-093. asp

LAWRENCE, Kansas, November 28, 2008 (ENS) - The radioactive element uranium has been found above federal limits in the drinking water supplies of nine Kansas communities, says Don Whittemore, a geochemist with the Kansas Geological Survey. Now these communities must devise solutions to bring down the uranium levels.


Possible solutions include relocating wells, buying water from other suppliers, or installing a treatment system, such as reverse osmosis.


In 2003 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency set a drinking water standard for uranium at a maximum contamination level of 30 parts per billion and gave public water providers until December 2007 to complete monitoring. Not all Kansas communities were able to meet the standard.


"The Arkansas River corridor in southwestern Kansas is especially susceptible to levels of uranium above EPA standards due to water-consuming agricultural practices in eastern Colorado," said Whittemore.


"Low levels of naturally occurring uranium picked up by the river from Cretaceous shales in Colorado are increased as water is lost to evaporation and transpiration," he explained.


Water from the river and shallow aquifers in Colorado is diverted into irrigation canals, farm fields, and reservoirs, giving it greater exposure to evaporation and transpiration. As a result, flows decline and concentrations of almost all chemical constituents, including uranium, increase before the river enters Kansas.


"When these enriched levels are added to natural uranium already present in groundwater in portions of the Ogallala aquifer in Kansas, it doesn't take much to get above the standard," Whittemore said.


The High Plains aquifer, which includes the Ogallala, is the source of most drinking water in western Kansas.


Some cities along the Arkansas River, including Garden City and Dodge City, have approaches in place to reduce contaminants and they were able to meet EPA standards.


But nine Kansas communities and water districts must now deal with water supplies that consistently registered above federal standards. They are - Atwood, Clay Center, Gaylord, Morganville, Norton, Oberlin, Lakin, Rooks County Rural Water District 1, and a Garden City subdivision. Private wells are not monitored.


In Lakin, uranium levels in the city's main well were above the standard over the four-year monitoring period.


"When out of compliance, communities such as Lakin are responsible for fixing the problem," Whittemore said.


A water supply that does not meet EPA standards has to be monitored quarterly while the community works to reduce the contaminants. Lakin and the other Kansas communities are currently investigating their options.


Because long-term exposure to high levels of uranium may cause kidney damage and increase the risk of cancer, the maximum contamination level for uranium is a primary standard, meaning it was enacted to protect public health and is legally enforceable. Natural uranium's capacity to be toxic, or poisonous, not its weak radioactivity, is what raises health concerns.


"Like mercury and arsenic, uranium can be toxic in high doses over a long period," Whittemore said.


As in the Arkansas River valley, high levels of uranium in other parts of the state are derived from Cretaceous-age shales deposited between 65 and 142 million years ago. The uranium leaches into the groundwater when the subsurface shales are weathered by rainfall recharge.


"Cretaceous shales tend to contain higher concentrations of naturally occurring uranium than other rocks in the Great Plains," Whittemore said.


In Kansas, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment's Bureau of Water is responsible for regulating all public water supply systems and has adopted the EPA's drinking water standards.


The EPA also recommends secondary, nonbinding, standards for dissolved solids, such as sulfate and chloride. High levels of these nontoxic salts and minerals, common in the Arkansas River system, negatively affect the aesthetic qualities of water, including taste, smell, and color, but are not generally considered to be health hazards.

From a blog on CarTalk: "Here they are asking for this enormous amount of money from US the taxpayers...telling congress that GM is burning through cash...AND they had the audacity to fly to this hearing in the Corporate $36m private jets. One congressman asked them..."Couldn't you downsized to at least First Class?" GM has at least 1 corporate jet. Ford maintains 8 corporate jets.

So instead of cutting their own PERSONAL EXPENSES...they lay off workers...Close plants."

Yet, the sad part is that this attitude isn't confined to just the auto industry, it is pervasive throughout corporate America. Even my company who still had 7% growth has laid off people, cut office parties, and stopped unnecessary travel. Of course, AIG may have finally got it with their recent news that the top seven execs are foregoing bonuses and the CEO will only be taking $1 pay for the next two years. Well, it took all that negative publicity after they got their handout and went out and partied, and then the auto industry execs getting their hand slapped for coming to Washington in their private jets. The main thrust of many companies is return for investors. The product becomes secondary. We'll get to the product in a moment as it turns out that much is not even made in this country. It is all about profit and return to investors. So anytime there is concern about profitability where are the cuts made? Exec bonuses? Exec perks? Nope, first knee jerk response is layoffs. Cut the work force, putting more of a burden on those left. Of course, those that are left won't squawk because the unspoken feeling is that if you complain, you could join your coworkers on the breadlines. Look at the news these days and we hear the layoff word over and over and over. Yet, execs are still getting huge salaries, perks, and golden parachutes.

Hopefully, the mentality is changing, but the best job in America is a Corporate CEO. Where else can you take on a company, run it into the ground, and when let go, get millions in compensation? And while you are at the top, you get a car, maybe even a jet, unlimited expense accounts, and so many other perks. The only other people in a company who can do a shit job and still get perks is the sales teams. I don't know how many times I have worked for companies that have cut the production/manufacturing force while hiring more sales. The sales teams go off site for team building at Las Vegas or the Bahamas. I have raised this question before, if the sales team are not doing their job, why do they get to travel and have their numbers added to while manufacturing/production has to cut?

It is just a paradigm that I have seen time and time again. Whenever profits slip, we lay off the work force, close plants, put more and more out of work. Yet, these are not the only issues, the other is outsourcing. Go into a store or a market and just try to buy American made or grown goods. Go on, try it. Mother Jones just did an article on this. O Say Can U Buy? www.motherjones.com/commenta...-buy.html The author tried to buy just American for one week and found that if you could find it, it was expensive. Another article from Mother Jones, When All-American...Isn't , www.motherjones.com/commenta...ican.html shows that even the vaunted Budweiser is no longer American. Of course, it still is brewed in the US, but it is no longer an American owned company. Two interesting points were brought up. Target and Gap keep the "Made in USA" label alive by making garments in offshore US territories like Saipan. Saipan? Do US Territories have to abide by US regulations for labor? This one floored me, APPLE JUICE 75% of it is imported; half of that comes from China. China???? Whatever happened to as American as Mom's Apple Pie? Um, does the pie come from China too? Of course, we won't go there about quality in China. It used to be a running gag that Made in China meant cheap, but lately the news from China is that it is deadly too. Yet, we will continue to import clothes, toys, and even food from China. Why haven't we stopped imports from China even though we have found food tainted with Melamine, toys with lead paint, and so many other issues. It just seems that everything these days is made in China. I bought a belt at a western wear store in Sedona. Nothing says American like western wear right? Wrong, got it home and as I was putting it on, I noticed the little stamp, made in China! Why is China so cheap to buy from? Well maybe slave labor might a major part of it. As my friend Will reminds us, Falong Gong practitioners are rounded up and thrown into prison or retraining camps where they are forced to work while being reindoctrinated. For more info, check out, www.faluninfo.net/

So the American worker is under siege. From Corporate Execs reaping outrageous salaries and bonuses, outsourcing, cutbacks, layoffs, its a wonder anyone is working anymore. As if that is not enough, the upward spiraling of health care costs is driving more and more to the poor house, but in the meantime not getting the care they need because though their health care costs are rising, the services are being reduced. Of course, there is a large PAC between the insurance companies and the health industry to prevent people from signing onto socialized medicine. One of their biggest arguments is that if you let the government run health care your taxes will go up and the government wouldn't provide the service. Um, let me see, what is the single most rising chunk out of my paycheck? Taxes? Nope. That would be health care deductions. Maybe it wouldn't rise so fast if the government ran it. Their other argument about cutting services is so lame as not to be mentioned when they continue to deny service to many. Of course, fuel costs have also hit the American people hard in the wallet. I find it interesting that as Bush's term comes to a close, the price of a gallon of gas is returning to those 2004 levels. So maybe Exxon/Mobil won't reap another billion dollar quarter profit. Hey, it was a nice ride, while it lasted. With Obama as a proponent of a Windfall Profit Tax, I think they saw the handwriting on the wall. So maybe just a little relief there, but other costs are just whacking consumers left and right.

Now that is the key word here, consumers. Let's think about all that has been said here about the American worker. Many have lost their jobs or their job is in peril at this time. Let me tell you, unemployment doesn't cut it. I was laid off after 9/11 in a terrible economy and spent six months on unemployment. I had to tap my 401k just to make the rent. Of course, the government doesn't care why you are taking the money out, so I got whacked with the taxes and 10% penalty so that further depleted my funds. I couldn't afford much, so I bought food when my kids were coming over on the weekend and survived on what was left over for the rest of the week. Even now, I am not happy with my job, but can't even think about leaving it. And even though I get a decent wage, it is dig in time because you don't know what is going to happen and my wife is being outsourced.

So we hear in the reports that consumer confidence is down, retail sales are down, and the retail industry feels that the outlook is going to be very bleak for Christmas. Well, duh! I am working and I have not been in a mall probably since last Christmas. I haven't bought new clothes for myself in years. I usually get a new shirt or pants for my birthday or Christmas. My car is over 177,000 miles and due for brakes and shocks. (It is a 2004, but I have a long commute which kills my back and my kids live fourty minutes away and I have to go get them twice a week.) Now, I have all ready told my kids that Christmas will be lean this year. Yet, I am in a good place. I have a job, my wife is still working until the end of the year. So the question is, who is going to buy all the goods that these corporations are bringing in from other countries? They have pushed the American worker out so that they could have slave labor in other countries manufacture their goods for pennies and then wonder why no one here is buying their stuff? The unfortunate part of it is that we are just as complicit because we flood the likes of Walmart and its ilk to get cheap items. In tough economies like this, we are drawn to the discounters for the cheap items made in places like China because we can't afford anything else. So we exacerbate the problem as we buy less and less American goods and causing American companies to either have to layoff workers or close their doors.

The real question is how to turn things around. Well for starters how about tying execs fates to the fates of the company like in the old days. If the company is failing, they don't get bonuses. If they fail to turn the company around, they don't get a golden parachute out the door. And they don't get automatic bonuses even in a failing economy. Get rid of the perks such as private jets and such. Tie their fate to the fate of the workers, then maybe they won't be so quick to lay people off. I believe it was a Boston radio talk show host said that you can't limit executive perks because then the only people you would draw would be college professors. My response is that maybe that is exactly what we need since many of these execs are more interested in their big houses, fancy cars, and private jets than in whether the company makes it. Of course, it isn't just the execs, but on the other end too, we the consumers. Maybe if we started taking an interest in buying American, manufacturers might just get it and then they might start hiring people. Hmm, novel concept, hire people, put them to work and give them a decent wage so they can, wait for it, oh, I think you guessed all ready, yep, buy something. Some company has to get the ball rolling. They have to say enough, hire back people, get them working and putting money back in the economy. We as consumers also can start taking measures by trying to find those few remaining American goods and buy them. Failing that, don't support slave labor in third world countries or forced labor camps in China. Look for things like Fair Trade products where companies get certified for giving a fair price to the locals for products grown or made in other countries. It may cost a little bit more, but remember the reason for the cheap price most times is because someone else is being forced to make that product for little or no pay.

For a starting point on buying American, google Made in the USA or go to sites like www.madeinusa.org/

As long as we continue to buy these cheap goods from China and third world countries, we are only contributing to the demise of the American Worker.